Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a device for measurement of deviation from a reference axis and in particular to a device for measurement of deviation from a vertical or horizontal reference axis.
The disclosure has been developed primarily for use with a levelling device such as a spirit level for measurement of deviation from a reference axis and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the disclosure is not limited to this particular field of use.
Description of the Related Art
It is common in commercial and domestic buildings for owners to upgrade or alter various spaces and structures therein such as rooms, doors, windows and various fixtures, to address faults caused by movement of sub-assemblies or temperature or moisture, or even simply to provide a change of aesthetics or style of a room.
Upgrades such as door replacements, window replacements, wall replacements, fixture replacements such as shower screens and the like, require some building and construction skills because more often than not when replacing a door or shower screen for example, walls adjacent to or support for a replacement fixture may have moved.
In such circumstances, it is not simply a matter of removing one element and replacing with another, because if a wall is out of ‘plumb’, replacing with an identical fixture may leave an unsightly misalignment between the replacement fixture and existing wall. It is not unusual for example, for tiled walls in a bathroom shower area to be installed out of ‘plumb’, hence when installing a door or glass plate or panel and the like to substantially align with an existing tiled wall, it is convenient to know the extent of deviation from ‘plumb’ so that a door or glass plate can be measured and tailored to mate with the tiled wall.
One method traditionally used by builders to determine extent of deviation from ‘plumb’ uses a ‘spirit level’ having a bubble gauge comprising a transparent vial containing a colored liquid such that an air bubble is created. In use:
(a) the spirit level is placed on a surface of vertical or horizontal structure, and inclination from plump or horizontal position is indicated by position of the air bubble relative to a central position on the transparent vial;
(b) material such as ‘shim’ of known dimension is wedged between the structure and the spirit level until the bubble is located centrally of the transparent vial; and
(c) the extent of deviation determined by the total thickness of shim required to obtain plumb or horizontal position.
The traditional approach to determining a measurement of deviation from plumb or horizontal is unwieldy and time consuming because multiple ‘shims’ may be required before level indication is achieved by centering the air bubble, and manual tilting of the spirit level is required for insertion of the shim(s), notwithstanding that depending on the insertion technique, the spirit level alignment may be compromised leading to incorrect readings.
In some instances, surface levels may vary over a substantial distance hence such an approach often needs to be repeated along a length of structure. Even further, traditional techniques for measuring deviation can be very clumsy and impractical particularly when used in confined spaces such as bathrooms.
The present disclosure seeks to provide a device for measurement of deviation from a reference axis, which will overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one or more of the deficiencies of the prior art, or to at least provide an alternative.
It is to be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.